Wyvern and Company (27 page)

Kiarra stopped in mid-sentence, blinked at Merrill and burst
out laughing.

Thank you
, I sent to Merrill later as he, Kiarra,
Dragon, Lion, Joey, Bearcat and I sat on comfortable chairs around the indoor
pool, discussing missing spawn, the little we knew about Sirenali and what—if
anything—we might do about all of it.

You're welcome
, Merrill replied, his face never
revealing the fact that we were having a mental conversation. Somehow, in all
this mess, there had to be an answer, we just hadn't arrived at it, yet.

"Invite me?" Darzi walked in, dropping cross-legged
onto the tiled floor surrounding the pool.

"Hi. Sorry we didn't think to send for you," Kiarra
smiled at him. He smiled back. "We're trying to think of a way to find the
spawn that are disappearing. So far, we haven't come up with anything. I've
tried
Looking
into the future for towns or cities that get hit, but
nothing is showing up."

At the time, I didn't think a shapeshifting lion snake with
limited English could come up with anything, or know what
Looking
actually meant. He nodded at Kiarra anyway and appeared to be considering her
words.

The rest of us had reached a standstill.

"Maybe they use random selection," Darzi said after
a moment. "Like casino. Random number generator."

"You mean they might not be targeting these things—that
they're relying on a machine to do it for them?" Kiarra stared at Darzi.

"Possible," he shrugged. "You not find by
Looking
,
because there nothing to find—yet."

"This is impossible," I rubbed my forehead. "The
first town was small. They took ten away. The second was somewhat larger and
they took nine from there. All of those were men, tall and strong. That's what
they're looking for. Didn't you say that the military could end up being a
target?" I turned to Dragon.

"That would make sense to me," he said. "As a
military leader at one time, if I were recruiting, I'd carefully select my
candidates. The problem, as we all know, is that until now, spawn haven't
discriminated as to their turns—after they sate themselves on the more tender
victims, generally consisting of women and children, they only bite what they
can't consume afterward. With them, it's instinctual."

"Unless something interferes with that instinct,"
Kiarra pointed out. "Tell me again how an obsession works? Doesn't it stay
in effect until the victim dies? Does that mean completely dead, or does it
carry over to the spawn made from the victim?"

"Holy, fucking hell," I snorted. "Spawn with an
obsession? That could make them a hundred times more dangerous."

"Darzi agree," Darzi said, jerking his head in a
nod.

"While hell may be a topic best left to philosophers, I
agree with the gist of your comment," Pheligar appeared. Lifting Kiarra
from her chair while she squawked and slapped at his hands, he enlarged the
seat with power and sat, Kiarra held carefully on his lap.

"That doesn't help us at all," Joey tossed up a hand
in resignation. "Anybody with a laptop or a tablet can do a random
selection of small towns. Maybe they're building up to grabbing the National
Guard troops when they arrive at the scene, or maybe they're planning to take
an entire base somewhere. We don't know the answer to that."

"What did you say?" Kiarra struggled in Pheligar's
arms. He pulled her closer and soothed her with gentle hands.

"Which part? The National Guard part or the military base
part?" Joey asked.

"The military base part," she said, making another
attempt to escape Pheligar's embrace. He didn't allow it. After a brief tussle,
which lasted barely three seconds, she gave in and relaxed against him.

"It's possible," Dragon replied. "But which
one? What would they want from there? The most men? Technology? Equipment? All
three?"

"At this point, it's still conjecture," Lion
observed.

"Very good conjecture, from my point of view,"
Kiarra said. I watched as Pheligar tucked pale blonde hair behind her ear. "It
could be impossible to figure out where they're going to strike next. We may
have to gamble on the military base thing and work from that end."

"So they're looking to produce superspawn that have an
obsession to achieve an unknown goal?" Bearcat asked. "But why?
Regular spawn have no trouble taking any world in very little time if they're
not stopped."

"We know that we're targets, but what if there are others
we don't know about?" I asked. The idea had concerned me for a while, but
it was now at the forefront of my thoughts and I wasn't sure why.

"Who else would the Ra'Ak target?" Bearcat asked. "Aren't
we the ones they're worried about the most?"

Nobody had an answer, but I could tell that Kiarra, Dragon and
Lion were concerned about it, too.

* * *

"Adam, we bent time and moved to Fresno two years before
Corpus Christi happened, when Justin turned four years old," Kiarra told
me later. The others had finally left us alone, going somewhere else to ponder
the conundrum for a while. Pheligar had gone too, and I'd had to approach
Kiarra carefully.

She allowed me to sit with her and then pull her against me.

Always, she feels good in my arms. I wrapped her up as much as
she'd allow and rested my cheek against her hair.

"I remember," I said. "It was a better time and
fit, and we knew to stay away from Corpus during that time. We bought the beach
house afterward, for our anniversary."

"Something about all this bothers me," she shivered
in my arms.

"I know. It bothers me, too, but I have no idea why."

* * *

Justin's Journal

Mack got his wish on dinner—we had steak and chicken fajitas
with tortillas, grilled onions and peppers, rice, beans, salsa, sour cream—the
works.

I had no idea Darzi could cook. He said he learned from the
best, but didn't elaborate. Actually, his exact words were, "I learn from
best cook. I not as good, but do fine enough."

He was the one who grilled the vegetables separately so Mom
could have veggie fajitas. The beans were vegetarian, as was the rice he
seasoned and served. She was very happy with what she got and offered Darzi a
hug for being the chief cook at dinner.

Mack and I cleaned the kitchen after we ate; Gina called
shortly after. Until I talked to her that evening, I thought I was the only one
getting hot under the collar when we kissed.

"Justin, I, uh, I've been thinking," Gina said after
we'd talked about homework assignments. Actually, I'd been working on mine when
she called. I didn't mind the interruption.

"About what?" I said, studying the equation in front
of me and attempting to work it out in my head.

"Well, you know, most guys are pushing to have sex after
the second date."

"What?" That put the brakes on doing two things at
once.

"Well, you know—they are," she said. "Sometimes
I don't go out with them after that, because, it's just—you know,
uncomfortable."

"Baby, I haven't asked you for that," I began. I had
no idea where this had come from and had even less of an idea where it was
headed.

"Well, that's, oh, this isn't coming out right," she
fussed. "Look, I wouldn't mind. If you did ask, that is. We're both
eighteen, and we're responsible. I guess that's what I mean," she finished
lamely.

She wanted to have sex?
I couldn't breathe for a
minute.

"Are you sure?" My voice sounded almost normal,
which was a real shock.

"I'm sure. I want your arms around me. I want you to uh,
touch me like that. I want you to be the one, Justin. You."

I could have bet that she was blushing. My face felt heated,
too. That didn't mean I wanted to turn her down.

Hell, no
. I just didn't want to disappoint her.

"Okay," I said after taking a deep breath and
releasing it. "Let's just take things slow. I don't want to rush this and risk
not making you happy."

"Oh my gosh, Justin, that may be the nicest thing any guy
has ever said to me. About sex, anyway."

At that moment, I wanted to pound anybody who'd been rude to
her before. I didn't want to
Look
for their names—that would be
dangerous. After all, I
could
pound them into pulp if I let my wyvern
and my temper get away from me.

I was also grateful that we weren't at Valley High anymore.
There were no jeers or whispers about our relationship—no speculation and no
gossip. Mack and Sarah knew—that's it.

As for the sex part—I wasn't willing to share that with
anyone. That was between Gina and me. I worried that Dad might guess, but then
I probably should have a talk with him anyway. Sure—most people my age knew the
mechanics of sex, but there was so much more to it than that, and I didn't know
where to start.

* * *

"You'll need these. Not that you'll really need them,"
Joey said, handing a box of condoms to me after knocking on my door later. "But
it will reassure Gina, and that's what matters most."

"How did you?" I sputtered.

"It's my job," he shrugged with a grin. "And,
as your father is so famous for saying, sex is natural between people who care
for one another. You're of legal age and nobody expects either of you to remain
celibate forever."

"This is unbelievable," I muttered, rubbing my
forehead.

"I had no idea what I was doing when I was your age,"
Joey said. "So you can either let your Dad give you pointers, or your
Uncle Lynx. Or Merrill—he's the one who finally gave me the scoop. All good
advice, I might add."

"What about you?" I mumbled, lifting my eyes and
staring at Joey. He was way too cheerful for my current frame of mind.

"Seriously? I've never had sex with a girl. Sorry, dude.
Can't help." Joey was now smiling.
Definitely too cheerful
.

"Well, uh, wow. This is embarrassing." I now rubbed
the back of my neck. I realized I didn't want to discuss this with Dad—no way.
The fact that he and Mom—well—she was pregnant, so both of them had to be
involved.

"You should probably decide soon, just in case,"
Joey shrugged. "Your choice."

"All right," I whispered. "Just don't
go—announcing it to everybody, okay? What if Mom finds out?"

"Why do you think your mother will mind? As long as it's
consensual, you're both of legal age and both enjoy it, why would she mind?
Pheligar already says you're sterile and you're not susceptible to diseases."

"Sex complicates things," I huffed, feeling angry
that Pheligar knew about my sex life—or lack thereof.

"Says the guy who's never had it," Joey retorted.

"Will you shut up?" I hissed. "I don't think
the neighbors half a mile away heard you, yet."

"You're approaching this as if you and Gina are both
virgins," Joey began.

"Whuh—what?" That fell on me like a load of bricks.

"You won't be her first. Her mother knows. Mrs. Allen
likes you a hell of a lot more than Gina's ex."

"TMI, Joey," I flopped against the wall next to the
door, my head in my hands.

"What do you want, then? To go into this blind and just
fumble along? Very few people are happy with their first time, Justin. The guy
lasts thirty seconds if he's lucky and the girl gets absolutely nothing out of
it. Be better than that." He turned to walk down the hall while I dropped my
hands and watched him go.

* * *

"Your nose is more sensitive than you think,"
Merrill said.

No, I couldn't sleep, so I went to the back porch to sit a
while. The night was nice, fairly cool and I'd found Merrill sitting there
having a glass of Scotch. Before I knew it, I blurted out my problem to him.

"But," I began.

"Let it help you," Merrill said. "Keep your
eyes open, too. There are signs that tell you—apart from the scent of
arousal—that your partner is ready to couple."

That night, a two-thousand-year-old vampire gave me instructions
for making love. He wasn't embarrassed in the least and I found it easier and
easier to ask questions as he explained things.

"No always means no, but you can ask whether they really
want you to stop," Merrill said. "Pull away first and ask your
question. Never, ever, manhandle or paw her. Pull away and offer to leave it
for another time. It will be extremely frustrating, but a session in the shower
is ultimately better than offending."

"Wow. Thanks, Uncle Merrill," I said, rising and
stretching. It was nearly two in the morning and I had to get some sleep.

"No problem. Come to me anytime if you have concerns,"
he said.

* * *

Uncle Dragon had his back to me when I walked into the kitchen
the following morning, still half asleep after a short night. Even with a short
night, I was up before Mack and watched for a moment as Dragon lifted a cup of
tea to drink.

"Hey, Uncle Dragon," I said, walking past him and
heading toward the fridge for some juice.

"Dragon will be here in a moment—he is speaking with Lion
upstairs."

Yeah, I stopped in my tracks and whirled around.

He looked exactly like Uncle Dragon, except for the tattoos of
cranes peeking from beneath the rolled-up sleeves of a white shirt.

"Uh, wow. Sorry," I apologized.

"You weren't expecting me, so no apology is necessary. I
was often mistaken for my brother in the past," the corners of his eyes
crinkled in a smile. "Dragon found it less amusing than I did. I am Crane,
former General to the Dragon Warlord."

"Glad to meet you," I bowed my head slightly. He did
the same, his dark eyes gleaming as he moved. He never took his eyes off me,
either; it was a show of respect.

"I see you've met my brother," Dragon walked into
the kitchen with Lion right behind him.

"I thought he was you from behind," I said. "Sorry
about that."